Edward Herbert Holmes-Brown & Family
| First name | Edward Herbert |
|---|---|
| Last name | Holmes-Brown & Family |
| Country of Origin | Argentina |
| Date of Birth | 1912 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1965 |
| Submitted by | Reg Holmes-Brown |
Story
We left our home in Bahia Blanca, Argentina because it was getting progressively more difficult to live there with a British surname and Mum (Edith Lia) and Dad (Edward Herbert) felt that we would have a better future in Australia.
We flew out of Gatwick aboard a turboprop of Caledonian Airlines – it took us 3 days to arrive in Melbourne. The delay was caused by a breakdown in the aircraft and we had to wait in Colombo until it was repaired. From Gatwick we flew to Bahrain, then onto Colombo (where the plane broke down) Once it was repaired, we flew onto Singapore, then Darwin and finally Melbourne,arriving on the 5th of October,1965 in the early hours of the morning.
Our first impressions were that Melbourne was a very quiet, clean place and fully expected to see kangaroos hopping down the street. We stayed in the suburb of Chelsea for about 3 months, until Mum and Dad purchased a property in Bacchus Marsh.
My older brother (Ronald Edward), me (Reginald Edgar) and my younger brother (Raul Leonard) were born in Argentina, while my 2 younger sisters (Lorraine Priscilla) and (Lorna Edith) and youngest brother (Roger Leslie) were born in Chuquicamata, Chile.
From the moment we arrived in Bacchus Marsh, we were made to feel welcome and most people went out of their way to help us. In the early years, our main problem living here was the isolation from our families in Argentina. Letters could take up to 15 days to arrive and phone calls were prohibitively espensive. With the advent of the internet, however, we are able to keep in contact via emails, as well as being able to phone.
In the 60’s, a trip to Buenos Aires from Melbourne meant a 5 day journey with a 2 day stopover in Tahiti, as well as overnighting in Santiago,Chile. Now it’s only an 18 hour trip.
While I know that we all miss Argentina very much, none of us would ever consider returning – this is now our home.This is definitely the “lucky country”. Thank you Australia for giving us the opportunity to become proud mebers of this great country!!!!